November 8, 1971: Led Zeppelin IV Is Released
Original illustration based on Jimmy Page’s 1977 appearance, not the 1971 sessions. Reference: Jim Summaria, CC BY-SA 3.0. New pose, setting and lighting. Illustration CC BY-SA 3.0.
On This Day: Led Zeppelin’s official timeline dates the release of their fourth, untitled album to November 8, 1971. The record commonly called Led Zeppelin IV reaches its 55th anniversary on that chronology in 2026.
For guitar readers, its lasting interest is wider than a single famous solo. The original eight-track album places “Black Dog” and “Rock And Roll” alongside “The Battle Of Evermore,” “Stairway To Heaven” and “Going To California.” It is a useful invitation to revisit the range within one record, rather than approaching it only through its most familiar song.
The recording credits behind the anniversary
The official discography credits Jimmy Page as producer. It lists Island Studios in London between November 1970 and February 1971, and Headley Grange in Hampshire with the Rolling Stones Mobile Studio during January and February 1971.
Those are album-level credits. They establish the documented recording locations without turning a later stage photograph into evidence of what Page used on a particular studio take.
Why the doubleneck belongs to the live story
Gibson documents a different, specific connection: Page’s EDS-1275 doubleneck let him move between six- and twelve-string parts during live performances of “Stairway To Heaven.” That helps explain the instrument’s association with the song, but it does not establish that guitar as the instrument on the album recording.
Want to explore those instruments further? Read our Jimmy Page guitars and gear guide.
Date note: November 8 follows Led Zeppelin’s official chronology; the cited pages do not identify a release territory.
Original artist illustration based on Jimmy Page’s 1977 appearance, not a reconstruction of the 1971 recording sessions. Reference photograph: Jim Summaria / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0. New pose, composition, setting and lighting. This illustration is licensed CC BY-SA 3.0; the GuitarGangsters logo is excluded. No endorsement implied.
